Circuit interrupters



Sept 20, 1960 D. w. WARNER, JR, ETAL' 2,953,655

CIRCUIT INTERRUPTERS Filed Dec. 22, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 20, 1960 D. w. WARNER, JR.. ETAL 2,953,655

CIRCUIT INTERRUPTERS Filed Dec. "22, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept. 20, 1960 D. w. WARNER, JR, ET AL 2,953,655

CIRCUIT INTERRUPTERS Filed Dec. 22, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Sept. 20, 1960 D. w. WARNER, JRL. ET AL 2,953,655

CIRCUIT INTERRUFTERS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. 22, 1958 CIRCUIT INTERRUPTERS' Dwight W. Warner, Jr., Penn Hills, and Owen C.

Hawkins, Jr., Mnrrysville, Pa., assignors to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Dec. 22, 1953, Ser. N0. 782,018

7 Claims. (Cl. '20048) This invention relates, generally, to circuit interr'upters and, more particularly, to disconnecting switches of the side-break type.

Disconnecting switches for relatively high voltage service may be provided with quick-break arc horns to interrupt arcs drawn during opening of the switches. Heretofore, such switches in outdoor service have been susceptible to ice formations during adverse weather conditions which prevent the proper functioning of the switches during opening and closing operations.

An object of the invention is to provide a shield for a disconnecting switch which prevents the formation of ice between a fixed portion and a movable portion of the switch.

Another object of the invention is to provide an arc horn for a disconnecting switch which is so shaped that it may be utilized on either a left or a right hand break switch.

A further object of the invention is to provide an arc horn which cooperates with the ice shield on a disconnecting switch to shear otf ice formed on the horn and the shield, thereby permitting the switch to be opened or closed. 7

Still another object of the invention is to provide an arc horn which is shaped to prevent a large quantity of ice from forming in the portion of the horn which is engaged by a resilient whip or auxiliary blade during opening of the switch.

A still further object of the invention is to reduce the rebounding action of the resilient whip or auxiliary blade during opening of the switch.

Other objects of the invention will be explained fully hereinafter or will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a disconnecting switch of the side-break type is provided with an arc horn which cooperates with an ice shield to shear off icicles formed on the shield and the horn, thereby permitting sliding contact of a whip or auxiliary blade with the horn during operation of the switch. The shield prevents ice from forming between the movable member carrying the contact jaws and the support for the movable member. The arc horn is shaped to minimize ice formation in the arc horn loop without contributing to ice formation in the break jaws For a better understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a view, in elevation, of a disconnecting switch embodying the principal features of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a view, in plan, of a portion of the switch illustrated in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view in perspective, of a portion of the switch shown in the closed position;

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are views, similar to Fig. 3, showing successive positions of the switch members during opening of the switch, and

. sulator assembly 11, a stationary insulator assembly 12,

a main switch blade 13, an auxiliary blade or whip 14, and acontact assembly 15. The rotatable insulator assembly 11 is mounted on a shaft 16, which is rotatably' disposed in a bearing housing 17 attached to the base 10. The insulator 11 may be rotated by means of an actuating lever.

18. A stop member 19 on the lever 18 is disposed to en gage a stop member 21 on the bearing housing 17 to limit the rotation of the insulator 11 in a direction to close the switch.

The main switch blade 13, which may be a tubular member composed of a conducting material, has one end clamped between a support 22 and a clamping plate 23. The support 22 may be attached to the cap of the insulator 11 by means of bolts 24. The plate 23 may be attached to the support 22 by means of bolts 25. A terminal pad 26 is rotatably mounted between the plate 23 and the support 22. A bearing pin (not shown) may extend through a bearing housing 27 formed integrally with the pad 26 to support the pad. A line conductor may be attached to the terminal pad 26.

The insulator assembly 11 has a base 28 which is attached to a flange 29 on the shaft 16 by means of bolts 30. The actuating lever 18 is disposed between the base 28 and the flange 29 and is secured by the bolts 30.

The stationary insulator assembly 12 may be attached to the base 10 by means of bolts 31. A spacing member 32 may be provided between a base 33 of the insulator assembly andihe channel shaped base 10.

The contact assembly 15 comprises a supporting member 35 which is attached to the cap of the insulator assembly 12 by means of bolts 36. A plate 37 is attached to the support 35 by means of bolts 38. A break-jaw 41 is pivotally mounted between the support 35 and the plate 37. As shown more clearly in Fig. 2, the break-jaw has two spaced arms 42 which engage a contact member 43 in the end of the blade 13 when the switch is in the closed position. The break-jaw 41 is supported by a bearing pin (not shown) which is disposed in a bearing member 44 on the support 35 and a bearing 45 on the plate 37. A housing 46 is attached to the break-jaw 4-1 by bolts '47 as shown in Fig. 3.

, Sprow, Serial No. 556,139, filed December 29, 1955. A line conductor may be connected to a terminal pad 48 formed integrally with the support 35.

As previously explained, the auxiliary blade 14 is pref erably composed of a resilient conducting material, such as beryllium copper. As shown, it is similar to a whip in shape and has one end attached to the main blade 13 by means of a clamp 51. When the switch is in the closed position, the whip 14 engages an arc horn 52, one end of which is attached to the housing 46 by means of bolts 53. As shown in Figs. 3 to 7 inclusive, the other end of the are born 52 is split into two wings 54 and 55. The wings 54 and 55 are bent downwardly and they diverge laterally.

Thus, a loop is formed at the junction of the wings 54 and 55 with an intermediate portion 56 of the horn 52.

. As shown in Fig. 2, the Wings 54 and 55 of the arc horn As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the contact member 43 on the blade 13 is disposed between the arms 42 of the breakjaw 41 when the switch is in the closed position. The whip 14 engages the arc horn 52. As shown in Fig. 4, when the blade 13 is swung to the right, as is the case for a righthand break switch, the break-jaw 41 and the housing 46 are swung to the right with the blade 13 until the contact member 43 is disengaged from the arms 42 of the breakjaw. However, the whip 14 is still engaged in the loop of the arc horn 52.

As shown in Fig. 5, the whip 14 remains engaged in the loop of the are born 52 until the main blade 13 is swung far enough to the right to cause the end of the whip 14 to slide through the loop of the arc horn 52. When the whip 14 is disengaged from the arc horn, it strikes a bumper 61 carried by the main blade 13. The bumper 61 is composed of a resilient material, such as rubber, which can absorb the energy of the whip 14, thereby preventing rebounding of the whip which might cause restriking of the are if the whip rebounded into contact with the break-jaw or other conducting member of the switch. The bumper is mounted on one leg of a U-shaped member 62, the other leg of which may extend through the blade 13 and be attached to the blade.

The switch is shown in its fully opened position in Fig. 6. It will be noted that the whip 14 is disengaged from the arc horn 52 and is resting against the bumper 61. The break-jaw 41 is retained in the opened position by means of an overcenter spring (not shown) which is disposed inside the housing 46.

During closing of the switch, the contact member 43 of the main blade 13 first engages one arm 42 of the break-jaw 41 and then engages the other arm 42 as the break-jaw is moved towards its closed position by the main blade 13. As shown in Fig. 7, the whip 14 engages the wing 54 of the arc horn 52 and slides downwardly along this wing until it passes the end of the wing from which position it moves to its fully closed position, as shown in Fig. 3. When the switch is utilized as a lefthand break switch, and the arc horn 52 is changed to the other side of the break-jaw, the whip will engage the wing 55 during the closing operation. Thus, the arc horn is suitable for either a right-hand break switch or for a lefthand break switch. In either case the whip 14 is pressed against the are born by the bumper 61 during the closing operation.

In order to preclude the possibility of ice formations preventing the proper operation of the switch, an ice shield 65 is attached to the plate 37 by means of bolts 66. The ice shield 65 is disposed at short distance above the arc horn 52 and extends over a portion of the horn. The shield 65 covers the space between the movable break-jaw 41 and the supports 35, thereby preventing ice from forming in this space to prevent the break-jaw from swinging about its pivot point during operation of the switch.

By referring to Figs. 3, 4, and 6, it will be seen that one edge of the upwardly bent portion 56 of the arc horn 52 moves along an edge 67 of the shield 65 as the switch is being opened. In this manner, any icicles formed on the shield 65 and the arc horn 52 are sheared 0E, thereby permitting the switch to open and the whip 14 to maintain electrical contact with the are born 52. Actual tests have shown that the shearing action removes the ice from the arc horn even though the horn extends beyond the shield 65. Furthermore, the horn is so shaped that ice is prevented from forming in the loop portion of the horn, thereby enabling the whip 14 to engage the loop portion during opening of the switch.

During closing of the switch, the other edge of the intermediate portion 56 of the arc horn 52 moves along the edge 67 of the shield, thereby shearing off any ice formed while the switch was in the opened position. Thus, the shearing action takes place during both opening and closing of the switch, thereby preventing ice formations from interfering with the proper operation of the switch.

As previously stated, the present switch has functioned properly under severe icing conditions where other switches have failed to operate. Thus, the present invention provides an are born which cooperates with an ice shield to remove ice which may be formed on the switch while in service. The present structure functions equally well during both opening and closing of the switch. The switch may be utilized as either a righ-hand break or a left-hand break switch.

Since numerous changes may be made in the abovedescribed construction, and different embodiments of the invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative, and not in a limiting sense.

We claim as our invention:

1. In a disconnecting switch, in combination, a fixed support, a contact assembly pivotally mounted on said support, a main switch blade for engaging said contact assembly, said contact assembly being actuated about its pivotal support by said blade, an arc horn, an auxiliary blade for engaging the arc horn, said auxiliary blade being disengaged from the arc horn after the main blade is disengaged from the contact assembly, a shield adjacent said are horn, and said horn and said shield being moved relative to each other by movement of the contact assembly about its pivotal support.

2. In a disconnecting switch, in combination, a fixed support, a contact assembly pivotally mounted on said support, a main switch blade for engaging said contact assembly, said contact assembly being actuated about its pivotal support by said blade, an arc horn, an auxiliary blade for engaging the arc horn, said auxiliary blade being disengaged from the arc horn after the main blade is disengaged from the contact assembly, a shield disposed above the arc horn, said shield and said horn being movable relative to each other, and said horn having an upwardly bent portion which is moved along an edge of said shield during movement of the contact assembly about its pivotal support.

3. In a disconnecting switch, in combination, a fixed support, a contact assembly pivotally mounted on said support, a main switch blade for engaging said contact assembly, said contact assembly being actuated about its pivotal support by said blade, an arc horn movable with the contact assembly, an auxiliary blade for engaging the are horn, said auxiliary blade being disengaged from the arc horn after the main blade is disengaged from the contact assembly, a shield attached to said fixed support, said shield extending over the pivotal support for the contact assembly, and said horn having a portion moved along an edge of the shield during movement of the contact assembly about its pivotal support.

4. In a disconnecting switch, in combination, a fixed support, a contact assembly pivotally mounted on said support, a main switch blade for engaging said contact assembly, said contact assembly being actuated about its pivotal support by said blade, an arc horn movable with the contact assembly, an auxiliary blade for engaging the arc horn, said auxiliary blade being disengaged from the arc horn after the main blade is disengaged from the contact assembly, a shield attached to said fixed support, said shield extending over the pivotal support for the contact assembly, said horn having one edge moved along an edge of the shield during movement of the contact assembly about its pivotal support in one direction, and another edge of the horn being moved along the edge of the shield during movement of the contact assembly about its pivotal support in the opposite direction.

5. In a disconnecting switch, in combination, a fixed support, a contact assembly pivotally mounted on said Support, a main switch blade for engaging said contact assembly, said contact assembly being actuated about its pivotal support by said blade, an arc horn movable with the contact assembly, one end of said are horn having two downwardly bent diverging wings, an auxiliary blade for engaging the are born, said auxiliary blade being disengaged from the arc horn after the main blade is disengaged from the contact assembly during opening of the switch, one of the wings on the arc horn being engaged by the auxiliary blade during closing of the switch, a shield on said fixed support adjacent said are horn, and said horn being moved along an edge of said shield during opening of the switch and during closing of the switch.

6. In a disconnecting switch, in combination, a fixed support, a contact assembly pivotally mounted on said support, a main switch blade for engaging said contact assembly, said contact assembly being actuated about its pivotal support by said blade, an arc horn movable with the contact assembly, a resilient auxiliary blade having one end attached to the main blade and the other end engaging the arc horn, the other end of the auxiliary blade being disengaged from the arc horn after the main blade is disengaged from the contact assembly, a shield on said fixed support adjacent the arc horn, and said horn being moved along an edge of said shield by movement of the contact assembly about its pivotal support.

7. In a disconnecting switch, in combination, a fixed support, a contact assembly pivotally mounted on said suppont, a main switch blade for engaging said contact assembly, said contact assembly being actuated about its pivotal support by said blade, an arc horn movable with the contact assembly, a resilient auxiliary blade having one end attached to the main blade and the other end engaging the arc horn, the other end of the auxiliary blade being disengaged from the arc horn after the main blade is disengaged from the contact assembly, a bumper on the main blade for absorbing energy of the auxiliary blade when it is disengaged from the are horn, a shield on said fixed support adjacent the arc horn, and said horn being moved along an edge of said shield during opening of the switch and during closing of the switch.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,825,774 Bridges Mar. 4, 1958 

